Archive

Having made the move to Whitstable, and keen to share our skillset with local businesses, we were particularly excited to be approached by the proprietor of the Whitstable Cottage Company, Garrie Keeys. The current site, although keeping him busy with bookings, was in much need of a refresh to bring it up to modern standards, to be more intuitive for visitors and to be easier to manage and update, and Garrie came to Bungalow on recommendation.

Eager to improve the way properties displayed on the site, and also aware of the great potential to be gained by social media exposure, we met to discuss how a new site could look, perform and work smarter. The idea of including a blog/events/reviews dimension to the site piqued Garrie’s interest further, appealing to his journalistic side. This would not only provide key content for local news, events, things to do when visiting etc. - all ideal for sharing across social media - but also increasing the site’s visibility to Google.

And so, with a blueprint in place, we updated Garrie’s existing brand identity and rolled it out across a Wordpress-based build with new property description pages with location maps and enquiry forms, plus 'featured' properties, blog, twitter feed, Facebook and pinterest integration too. The new backend to the site makes it quick and easy for Garrie to enter, edit and update his clients’ properties, to write his blog posts and reviews, and to add his guests’ testimonials too.

We designed the site to be ‘responsive’ - automatically optimised to deliver a different layout according to screen size (computers, tablets and smartphones) understanding how useful it can be to access location maps, local information and late availability deals on the move.

We’re thrilled with the result - it’s added a new angle to the property-based work we’re already known for, and applying this to a local business promoting tourism to the area… it’s a win-win. Garrie, too, is thrilled with his new website and we wish him and his business every success!

The site looks so good I got a bit emotional looking at it - bit of lump in my throat.
I am stunned ......thank you so much!

If you're planning a short break to Whitstable - pearl on the Kent coast - you know where to find the best accommodation: just click to visit the Whitstable Cottage Company website and start planning your trip!

With Strictly season (and fever!) upon us again, we were thrilled to be commissioned to design and build a brand new website for one of its best-loved and well-known stars: Mr Showbiz himself, Anton Du Beke!

The Background

Already having designed and built websites for a number of Strictly Come Dancing professional dancers and choreographers, we were very excited to at last have the opportunity to give Anton Du Beke's personal website a Bungalow make-over. Anton was looking for a site that would present him as an all-round showbiz personality, whilst also providing content and interactivity to please his fans too.

Having worked with Anton & Erin in the past, enjoying a trusted relationship with the stars, once given the nod to proceed with Anton's site were left to our own devices to originate the look, feel and content.

The Approach

We had a clear idea of the direction we wanted to take from the outset, having earmarked a centre spread in the Sunday Times magazine some years back featuring some stunning, 'Singing In The Rain' style photos by international celebrity photographer Steve Schofield. Now in charge of the website, and having been given Steve's images to work with… along with some fabulous new images from Gregory Michael King (Anton & Erin's favourite photographer)... bundled with some Bungalow creativity... we had everything we needed to shape the structure and styling of the site.

We gave Anton a new 'A du B' moniker, with a carefully chosen set of typefaces; coined 'The Entertainer' strap line… Anton loved it... and we set about crafting the site.

Although perhaps best known for appearing in all eleven series of Strictly (in particularly his routines with Ann Widdecombe to an audience of over 12 million, including Royalty and David Cameron), Anton is a regular face on our screens from appearances on daytime television, chat-shows, game shows… even to hosting his own shows: 'Hole In The Wall' and 'Step Up To The Plate'.

We were keen to combine this diversity with Anton's sharp, sartorial style - as well as his Strictly fame - into a site designed and built to respond to his career as nimbly as his footwork. Anton has become as much in demand for his personality and quick wit as for his dancing… and so, without further ado, let's introduce the star of the show!…

The site was designed in a modular fashion, with content panels that can be moved around, added or removed as required. Having scoped out the device-demographics of the site's incredibly broad-based audience, we knew it had to look great and work well on handheld devices such as iPads. And so, we planned it deliberately to present photography-rich, full-screen panels as fan-pleasers in a long, scrolling homepage which can be flicked through to great effect on tablet devices to really get an instant overview of the star.

Keep Up!

A celebrity site also needs to have interactivity for the fans, too. And to that end, as well as having a sign-up for Anton's mailing list, we brought his social media profile pages on-brand and integrated their feed feeds into the site: Twitter, Facebook and a new Pinterest feed too (the latter two managed here at Bungalow).

We built a blog section for the more formal updates we manage for him (including his weekly Strictly performances, this year with Bond girl Fiona Fullerton) - and also included a nifty 'social feed' into the sidebar with all his channels' updates rolled into one scrolling interface, keeping all things current and up-to-date every which way.

The result is a smart, sharp, up-to-date website that's modular, flexible and thoroughly connected.

Timed to go live on the evening of the first main show - and without any amendments or changes at all - we created an email launch campaign to invite his mailing list to the new site, with another apt line: 'I'm suited… and re-booted'… which made for the perfect catchy tweet to invite his 65,000 twitter followers too!

Anton loves his new website; he says it's 'absolutely fabulous' and tells us it has been met with a 'tremendous response'. We, too, are just as thrilled!

Bungalow are unique in our ability to research, copywrite, image-source and retouch, and design and build a celebrity website without requiring any involvement from the client or their management. We enjoy a rare and privileged level of trust which includes managing their merchandise, prints and order fulfilment along with their blogs and social media.

If you're looking for a showbiz site, Bungalow are the best in 'the Business'!

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Having met local fine artist Selina Firth at a gallery private view, and later seeing and very much liking her distinctive work, the opportunity arose to discuss her art with her from a business perspective. Learning that she was selling original works rather than prints, the conversation turned to our in-house, exhibition-quality giclée printer - and the possibility that she could increase sales without the constant need to create new pieces.

With an upcoming exhibition scheduled at Whitstable's Fishslab gallery a few weeks hence: 'The Air and Feel of Here', we encouraged Selina to start thinking of her art in a commercial sense. We worked with her to scan and photograph her latest body of work, visualise the exhibition space - thinking of it very much as a retail space - and to devise a range of prints, formats and sizes to provide price points accessible to all.

We recommended producing limited edition runs of signed prints on exhibition-grade Hahnemühle photo rag - a beautiful, weighty, 100% cotton art paper - from greeting-card size up to 24" prints. To introduce a lower entry point price, we created branded exhibition posters on a less expensive paper stock; with an imprint footer giving the title and exhibition details – devised in part to appeal to the tourist market who wanted to take a piece of Whitstable home with them.

Intrigued by her 'SF' greek letter signature, we suggested it could make for a strong brand mark… so we digitised it, paired it with a clean, modern typeface, and her new identity was born.

We then turned our attention to mounting, framing, hanging and presentation. We produced some smart, branded, foam-backed boards giving information about Selina, her prints, prices and ordering - plus a QR code board so gallery visitors could save her details to their smartphones. We also prepared a mailing list form to start a database for future marketing mailouts to announce new work and exhibitions. On-brand business cards completed her set of materials.

We're delighted to report that the exhibition was a great success, with a significant number of sales made and orders taken - crucially without Selina having to sell any of her treasured original pieces. The exhibition also gave the artist the confidence to approach businesses along Whitstable's renowned independent High Street - as a result, it's so exciting to see her lovely work hanging in shops, cafés, pubs and restaurants all around the town.

Off the back of her success, Selina is focused on business possibilities and the greater exposure to be gained, and we're currently discussing future marketing, and indeed a new website to showcase her work too.

Here at Bungalow we are able to offer artists access to high quality design, consultancy and marketing tools to help make their art commercially sustainable, reach a wider audience, and attract more sales.

We print using our HP DesignJet Z2100 onto exhibition grade papers for photographers and fine artists (and celebrities' signed prints too!). With its 24" paper path, we can print up to A1 here in-house. Please call for more information and pricing; there's more information here about our PrintShop… and see our printer in action with internationally acclaimed photographer, Joel Meyerowitz here.

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Thank you Bungalow Industries - you have enabled my artwork to take a stand for itself; to be confident and proud. Causing the inevitable - other people can now see the true value and worth of this beautiful work!

Also, Giclée prints are fantastic for painters as brush strokes and daubs of thick paint are reproduced - the fidelity of image is phenomenal! At the Fishslab exhibition visitors could not tell between the original and the print! So, to me, this makes good artwork far more accessible and affordable - which is exactly where I've been wanting to get to for the past 3 years, I just didn't know quite how.

NOW you've not only made my dream a reality you've surpassed that twentyfold!

Local businesswoman Clare Marriott came to us to revamp the identity, look, feel and website for her 1-year-old decluttering business - her previous agency's work having generated neither the results nor business she'd hoped for. Ever keen to apply our consultative approach to local businesses, we agreed to step in.

The Approach

Our recommendation was a clean sweep - everything, including her business' name - had to change in order to connect properly with customers and give it a fighting chance of success.

We took a fresh look at her business and knew we had to make this both personal, and productised. We surveyed the nation's registered organisers and declutterers from the apdo's website to get an overview of the industry - and the competition - and felt there was a clear gap in the market for a smartly designed, engaging, modern brand.

We originated a bright, positive-feeling, approachable brand identity using script font (plus aptly named Clarendon) and icons to give personality plus a modern edge… And we renamed her as Clare Declutters - a simple, no-nonsense approach, for clarity.

Identity in place, we rolled it out into a user-friendly, easy to navigate website built on WordPress. We image-sourced and copywrote the site, giving a nice balance of text and photography. It was crucial to define Clare's services as clearly as possible, in an organised, product-like way to help connect directly with people in a muddle.

We role-played who her potential customers might be, as well as the situations they might find themselves in, and devised packages tailored to six core situations, including: bereavement, moving home, office administration, general muddle - even coining 'clear with a conscience'… taking a (potentially profitable) recycling tact instead of a trip to the tip! We even helped Clare pitch her prices.

The result was a clean, fresh, comprehensive brand and website, and with some lovely business cards and flyers designed and printed, Clare was fully equipped to get the business back on track. We also helped Clare start blogging, and set up her social media channels - Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest to widen and strengthen her digital networks.

We're particularly pleased with the site - Clare Declutters is a great example of how polished branding and design can really help a business get ahead. If you're looking for a fresh start, and an organised way to present your product or service to new customers… Clarity begins at home: call Bungalow!

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You'll have no doubt gathered that we love property here at Bungalow, and when we received a call from Berkshire based estate agent Daniel Sear in need of our help, we were all ears!

The Background

Sears Property founded in 2010, has built a strong reputation based on the quality of the service it offers. A truly independent and family owned and run business, it found itself being overlooked in the sea of competition due to its dark, dated brand identity.

Having met and spoken with Daniel as 2012 drew to a close, it was immediately apparent was that their old identity (a blue and red Pepsi-style logo on a black background) became almost completely invisible on its for sale and let boards during the long dark evenings.

The Approach

We prepared a 4-phase strategy for Daniel: a whole business approach, commencing with a rebrand… rolling out across all the required materials (including his low-visibility boards)… through to a full website refresh, and marketing beyond. The prime directive being to increase visibility, engagement, and ultimately market share in this highly competitive part of Berkshire.

The Identity

We took inspiration from the freshest new brands appearing on today's high streets – and not just those in the property industry. We scoped-out Sears' competitive landscape, assessing the colours, typefaces and approaches used by other local agents, and crafted a unique identity all of their own.

Based around the now universally-familiar 'geo-pointer' icon, adding yellow for visibility, a vibrant on-trend blue and a typeface designed to connect to a broad demographic (originally developed for Volkswagen), combined with a selection of positive and affirming tag lines… the new Sears identity was born!

The Roll-out

Aware that the property market was moving fast, and Daniel was keen to catch the spring-time movers, we worked quickly to roll out the rebrand across all his materials. Starting with striking new board designs for sales and lettings, property particulars, window cards, property press layouts and advertisements, 20-page marketing booklets, a snazzy suite of stationery… and of course, a brand new website.

The Website

Working to the constraints of the existing website framework provided by Acquaint, we designed and copywrote an entirely new site to fit the template format already in place. Fresh looking, modern, vibrant – a site that truly represents Sears' energy, and their clear, simple approach to property. The site is full of testimonials to reinforce Sears' commitment to quality service, and certainly holds its own when pitched against the sites of their larger competitors and peers.

Already signed up to social media, and auto-broadcasting properties with no audience, we took Twitter and Facebook to task, designing new page backgrounds, set up new followers and started tweeting and sharing stories to get them on the right road. We wrote an initial blog post for the website all about their new look and used social media channels to spread the word.

From identity to boards, website to marketing materials, we've worked hard to help Sears communicate and engage with their target market – building stronger connections, and a stronger brand as a result.

The Office Makeover

Not content with reworking all digital and print elements, we set about transforming their premises too. We designed new signage and window graphics; provided a schematic for the walls — colours, lettering and artwork, and sourced new, modern furniture: brightly upholstered benches, pods and sofas to complete a truly on-brand look. Sears' 'property shop' is now a real destination on Bracknell High Street. Thanks to Kremer Signs and Barkham Office Furniture for bringing our vision to life.

Word on the Street...

We're absolutely delighted with the result, as are Sears – early feedback is very positive from clients and passers by alike, and Daniel's been told that his new boards stand out a mile. We'll be working closely with Sears on a marketing strategy to take this modern property brand forward, having now put it firmly, and visibly, on the map.

Case History

Founded in 2000, talkhealth partnership began as talkeczema and grew into a suite of related condition-specific sites providing free support and information on a wide range of health conditions. A vanguard platform for patients and carers looking for the latest information on specific chronic health conditions, the sites presented a valuable resource of NHS-syndicated content alongside blogs, forums and product- and service-rich directories.

Expanding so quickly, but without a platform to properly support its growth, talkhealth required a future-proofed solution to enable them to move forward and expand sustainably.

Call in the Consultants

We began by redesigning and restructuring talkhealth into a single site, with specific health condition hubs and forums nested within. All in one place, on a single domain, easier to navigate and better cross-linked to enrich the visitor experience.

A rebrand followed, introducing a softer palette of more soothing tones, and modernising the original speech-bubble-inspired logo. We devised tag lines; a friendlier, more approachable tone of voice, and carefully selected typefaces and stock imagery... a 'personality' to better connect and engage with the site's wide and diverse demographic.

8 Health Hubs, 18 Forums, 11 Online Clinics... And Still Growing!

We rolled out our site-plan to cover all the key areas of the new website, with interfaces designed for blogging, forums, product & service directories, members' area, online clinics, surveys, freebies as well as the healthcare information itself. The talkhealth partnership site thus evolved into a fully-fledged online community. It is now more welcoming, content rich, and much more interactive too, through the introduction of a bloggers' network, more user-friendly forums, members' stories, plus NHS-sponsored online clinics offering participants direct access to advice from medical experts – a groundbreaking service.

Strategies for advertising and sponsorship opportunities were designed into the site, along with persuasive marketing materials for pitching to leading pharmaceutical companies... as well as keystone charities, and celebrities too, for high profile support. (Check out the 20-page marketing booklet / media pack fully designed and copywritten by us.) The roll-out also included social media set-up across twitter, facebook and pinterest; plus a smart stationery suite and modular e-newsletter design, keeping everything fresh and on-brand.

The Prognosis is Good!

Much time and thought was invested into the initial consultancy phases and site restructure – time well spent in future-proofing the online business – with our involvement taking some six months to complete. To date, the site is live though still in the hands of the developer and there remains much content to be rolled out over the coming months.

We're delighted with the results and proud to have been involved in a project of this size – and significance. It's an invaluable resource: it empowers, informs, and makes available a wealth of information from patients' own experiences, literally enabling everybody to 'talk health'.

It's early days but the response so far has been resoundingly positive – talkhealth is fast becoming one of the UK's leading online health communities... Why not check it out for yourself and join in the conversations!

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After working with the world renowned dancer/choreographer Chris Marques in 2011 on his own brand and website in readiness for his rise to TV fame as head judge and artistic director on TF1's 'Danse Avec Les Stars', Chris and his partner Jaclyn Spencer commissioned Bungalow to create an identity and promo page for their new dance company: 'Dance Rocks'.

Chris and Jaci are the world-class duo behind some of the hottest choreography in the industry, including 'Strictly Come Dancing' and working with the biggest names in music and fashion. Their new company sees them performing at spectacular red carpet and VIP events, as well as award ceremonies and catwalk/couture events for the likes of Jean Paul Gaultier.

We set about creating a sleek star-lit identity and rolling it out as a one page addition to Chris' personal site with showbiz style and top-billing layout all to a backdrop of couture style photography.

Now signed to Sony Music, Chris's site attracts a world-wide audience – not least as he has a new DVD to his name (with artwork based on the identity we originated for his personal site).

Here's to their ongoing success, and as their library of video clips and photographs grows, there are plans afoot to roll out the page into a full site of its own. Watch this space!

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We're not the most frequent bloggers about our work, we'll admit, but that's not to say we're not busy. Aside from renovating a midcentury property (one of our biggest passions), we felt it noteworthy to blog about one of our newer services, one in fact requested by fellow design and web development agencies.

We call it our 'brown paper wrap' service. Essentially, other agencies have cottoned on to our core in-house skill set:

consultancy

brand identity

graphic and website design

customer journey

image sourcing and retouching

copywriting

…and choose to outsource their design commissions to us.

Our level of polish and professionalism, effective across the board from sole traders to global organisations, charities to celebrities, saves agencies time and money by providing a considered, consultative approach delivering one solution which invariably meets with approval.

Of late, we've been sub-commissioned to design websites for a financial organisation and a £multi-million turnover online shop, a conference microsite for leading IT company, advertising emails for one of the UK's largest supermarkets and vehicle livery for one of the UK's leading suppliers of office furniture. All delivered on time, and on budget.

Whilst we can't feature these recent projects in detail on our blog or portfolio, we're proud of the work and wanted to let you all know about our new Bungalow package.

When it comes to great design, Bungalow have it 'all wrapped up'!

If you're an agency looking to outsources elements of design where our consultative approach would add value to your service and to your clients' businesses, contact us to discuss our 'brown paper wrap' service.

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We love property here at Bungalow and were very excited when estate agency entrepreneur Darren Wickes came to us on the strength of our work in this industry. Setting up a new estate agency business, particularly in London, required a complete package and he commissioned us to create a sharp identity, office signage, interior design, for sale & let board designs, stationery, property brochure designs, press adverts & templates, marketing campaign, flyer design, visuals for digital window displays, posters, mini liveries... and of course a website design which we copywrote from top to bottom.

The first matter to address was the name. 'Redhot Property' didn't resonate with his brief and vision for the business and we tried to coax him away from it. Change wasn't to be, particularly as he'd also invested in the key domain rhp.co.uk at not-insignificant cost. We didn't feel it sent the right messages to the customer and so worked to give the identity a particularly soft-edged whilst thoroughly modern treatment to offset any harshness that might be inferred. It not only met with approval from Darren, but also garnered the attention and interest from other agents on his patch.

During the process, rhp's state of the art office came under fire as it was situated in one of the streets most badly hit by the London riots and it was decided to regroup, refocus, retreat from the high street and concentrate on brand and service.

Now as a fixed-fee internet-based agent, we designed a revised site and built it in-house. The new site, based on a WordPress engine showcased his brand, the key offers to sellers and landlords, and his level of service. Much was repurposed and updated from the original design, and with strong imagery, simple navigation, intuitive flow, fresh copywriting and our trademark lifestyle hooks, the site was designed, built and launched on time and to budget.

One key saving both short and long term was to host his property listings solely on Rightmove, rather than design, build and manage a parallel system on his site. Why duplicate what the UK's leading property site already does so well? It's our experience that buyers and tenants head straight to the major portals to find a property – not to individual agents' websites. We believe that an agent's website should focus on presenting their services to vendors and landlords: showcasing their brand, and quality of service, marketing and materials – these being the key USPs to differentiate them from their competitors.

The new website went live without any amends: the look, feel, design, imagery, and copywriting all approved without change. Darren is thrilled to have his agency vision working for him, and to be doing business with a website that doesn't just sell his service… it really hits home.

Note: We've sadly been made aware that rhp are no longer trading due to personal circumstances.

Here at Bungalow, brand comes first – it's your most valuable asset in business. Whether you're an estate agency small or large, if you'd like to make best use of your marketing budget to grow, promote and strengthen your brand across web, print, and social media channels, contact us here at Bungalow Industries and make the right move for your agency.

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Getting Connected

With our move now behind us, we were keen to start doing business locally, participating and contributing to Whitstable's thriving entrepreneurial vibe. With so many independent businesses here, we wanted to put our skills to good use locally, broaden our network, and enjoy a balance in having more face-to-face clients. The challenge: to find our first local client for a Bungalow-style business makeover!

With that in mind, we headed off to our first tweetup at Whitstable's Hotel Continental. No sooner had we walked through the door than we were approached, arms-wide, by the rather wonderful Kerry Hales, who we had already struck up conversation with over coffee some months earlier, Christmas shopping in Whitstable. A well-connected, much-liked and social-media-savvy businesswoman with great energy – and accomplished track record, she admitted she felt held back by not having a professional brand image, identity and website (other than her existing stock-template, unbranded blog). As a Strictly Come Dancing fan, she had already seen our work and was only too thrilled to let us take a look at her business. Early discussions made it clear that she would benefit from a Bungalow makeover... and that we too would benefit from her infectious and inspirational manner. The fit was good — we clicked!

An initial consultancy session followed where we got to grips with her current business, before turning the tables and becoming coaches to draw out her longer term vision. We then began to plot out a strategy for her new brand, its positioning and roll-out.

A New Image

We wanted Kerry's brand and materials to be a true reflection of her personality, strengths, energy and capability. We turned the spotlight on Kerry, literally, when she visited us at our studio. Upon arriving, she instantly took a shine to our iconic Egg chair; glasses on, pen and journal at hand, Kerry looked right at home. The shutter began to click, and to our delight, a newly confident, empowered professional woman emerged. We shot a series of images that would become an intrinsic part of her new business identity and help direct the look and feel of her website.

A New Identity

With super new portrait photographs to work with, we focused on her visual identity and combined a friendly, positive mark and typeface with energising, corporate swatches, balanced carefully to appeal to both female and male demographics. We also advised she evolve from 'the communications coach' to 'Kerry Hales, the complete coach' to position her as the figurehead of her business and to connect more directly with her audience.

With brand visuals in place, Kerry was keen to present her new business identity at her networking events across Kent: we designed business cards with a QR code for quick mobile access, vital for such a busy networker.

The New Website

We then turned our attention to her website. Kerry's old site was no more than a stock-template WordPress blog. We took her site apart and turned it on its head. We redesigned it from the ground up, reorganising and rewriting the content, replacing what was effectively a personal journal with an engaging, business-based, service-focused website. We asked Kerry to write clear definitions of her core services, telling her to think of them as 'products', for which we created new pages, individual identities and site-wide promo-spots to make them feel accessible, tangible, professionally packaged – and purchasable.

Already up to speed with social media, we brought all her channels on-brand and incorporated them and their feeds into her site; we also introduced her to Pinterest to give an additional visual dimension and resource. Given Kerry's great presence in front of a lens, and wanting clients to be able to get to know, form a bond, and feel comfortable with her, we tried our hands at video-blogging... something we'll be focusing on over the coming months. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, email newsletter, and YouTube - all integrated into her site for maximum exposure and engagement.

Designed to Engage and Connect

Kerry's new website enables her to keep her existing network – and potential clients alike – updated with her news, blogs, inspirations, products, activities... even video-blogs to maintain that crucial personal connection.

Video blog

social media shares

newsletter sign-up

calls to action

pinterest

twitter feed

blog snippets

branded sign-off & contact details

Over to Kerry...

With the website now handed over, its WordPress engine gives Kerry full control over all content, management and updates. She now has all the tools available to enable her to do what she does best: work on her business – her products, services and marketing – rather than 'blog, blog blog'. She has a professional, confident image, and a thoroughly modern, first class website that not only means business – it clearly demonstrates that Kerry means business too.

We've thoroughly enjoyed working with Kerry and are thrilled with the results, as is she...

I'm truly staggered by the Bungalow boys' talent and abilities… they wear so many hats! Not content with being top notch designers, they are business strategists, consultants, social media gurus, copywriters, and website experts – is there nothing they can't do? I am so grateful to have worked with them and can't express what they have done for my business and for me!

If you're serious about business – and shouldn't we all be? – then call them. David & Scott are personable, have the highest integrity I have come across in business and they will over deliver on 'everything'. They get right to the core of your business, they need no direction… they just do it, they get it, they are on another level!!